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Describe something you received for free.: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What was it?
  • When and from whom did you receive it?
  • How did you feel?
Show all 127 answers

Cue 1:What was it?

  • Begin by clearly stating what the item or service was that you received for free.
  • Provide a brief description of its significance or usefulness to you.

Example

I received a beautiful handmade scarf from my grandmother. It was made from soft wool and had intricate patterns that reflected our cultural heritage.

Cue 2:When and from whom did you receive it?

  • Mention the occasion or event during which you received the item.
  • Specify who gave it to you and their relationship to you.

Example

I received the scarf last winter during my birthday celebration. My grandmother, who is very dear to me, gifted it to me as a surprise.

Cue 3:How did you feel?

  • Share your emotional response upon receiving the gift.
  • Explain why this feeling was significant to you.

Example

I felt incredibly touched and grateful when I received the scarf. It reminded me of the love and care my grandmother puts into everything she makes, making it even more special.

Conclusion

  • Summarize the importance of the gift in your life.
  • Reflect on how receiving this free item impacted your relationship with the giver.

Example

In conclusion, receiving the scarf from my grandmother not only warmed me physically during the cold months but also strengthened our bond. It serves as a constant reminder of her love and our family traditions.

Following this structure will ensure you cover all the essential points while providing a clear and engaging response to the cue card topic.

Tips to answer this Cue Card

1: Giving Vague Answers

Avoid being too general or vague in your response. Specific details make your answer more engaging and memorable. Vague answers can lead to a lack of clarity.

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Tip

Include specific details about the item you received, such as its appearance, purpose, and significance to you.

2: Neglecting Emotional Impact

Failing to express your feelings can make your answer less impactful. Emotions help to connect with the listener and make your story more relatable.

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Tip

Share how receiving the item made you feel at the moment and how it affects you now, using descriptive language.

Ignoring the Context

Not providing context about when and from whom you received the item can leave your answer feeling incomplete. Context adds depth to your story.

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Tip

Clearly explain the situation surrounding the gift, including the occasion and the relationship with the giver.

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IELTS Cue Cards asked last week

Reported by Leap students who gave IELTS

Describe your favourite food at a traditional festival or a special event in your country
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

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Pitampura Test Centre, New Delhi

Answer

I like to taste different types of cuisine. Here I would like to talk about my favorite dish at my traditional festival of Onam which is Sadya. Sadya is popular in my city. We are experimenting these cuisines on Onam festival day. Onam is a famous festival in my city. All family members get together in my home and we make a delicious Sadya. There are many ingredients includes that Sadya. Moreover, we make a big feast that day as well as we create a lot of memories together and we wear that day the traditional dress called Sari and men wear the Dhotis. That festival is really important to us because the whole day we are conducting different kinds of games at our homes and all the family members came together. It's a memorable day in my life. This is the festival. We are making the Sambar and Aviyal. These all the kinds of foods are making with the vegetables.
Talk about a toy you liked in your childhood
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 8

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Sector 34 Test Centre, Chandigarh

Answer

The toy which I liked in my childhood was a panda doll, which makes me pleasant and makes me more blush. The pandas are the most beautiful creatures of the world, which looks gigantic and has pooshy cheeks and they are like stars in the clouds and they dream in me. Furthermore, these have been given by my father. My father is a very very beautiful artistic person, who makes me think of that. Every day you will face every difficulties and make you suffer and move forward. Pandas are always seen in Japanese countries. It is my lifelong dream to visit a Japanese country and click a photo with the original pandas, which makes sounds better.
Describe a time you were in a place where you didn't know the local language
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 6.5

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Whitefield Test Center, Bengaluru

Answer

As India is a very large country full of diversity, so there are many places which have their own language and speak their native language. The place which I visited and I didn't know about their language was Leladakh, which is about 300 km away from my hometown and it is a very good place as it consists of different kind of trees, animals and have many scenic views and I visited over there last year in summers as it was the best time to visit because it has many, it was cold over there and we had summers in our area so it was the best time to visit over there and I went over there with my whole family.
Describe a time when your friend damaged something you owned
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7

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Begumpet Test Centre, Hyderabad

Answer

When I was a kid, I had a little pencil box which had these four buttons which gave the pencil box an operative use. When you press the button, the box would open up. When you press the second button, a little part of it would slide out. Basically it was just a little electronical and a fun thing to have and I owned it when I was in 6th. One day after break, I was standing and talking there with one of my friends and another friend of mine was running through the hallway and accidentally she pushed my shoulder and my pencil box hit the ground and it broke into multiple pieces to the point that it was not functional anymore.
Describe a book you recently read
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

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CBD Belapur Test Centre, Navi Mumbai

Answer

It Ends With Us is a book I read recently. It's by the author Colleen Hoare. It's mainly a story about two teenagers, Atlas and Lily, and how they just handle their life going through high school, adolescence, and just domestic violence at home. Both of them come from very, very different families. However, they have one common determining factor between them, which is domestic violence. The abuse that they've seen their moms go through is just insane, and they connect through that on a different level. They're actually in the same high school, but they never speak to each other until Atlas actually crashes into an empty house next to Lily's villa. When Atlas is homeless and he doesn't have anywhere to go, he just comes and breaks into the house next to Lily's, and Lily helps him with all the daily necessities like clothes and food, medicines and stuff. Furthermore, their friendship blossoms into love, but it doesn't really fructify as Atlas has to leave. This book really gave me a lot of knowledge about domestic abuse and how to deal with it.

All Answers

Here are all the answers by real-users practicing speaking for IELTS Cue Cards on our IELTS Prep App.

Band 7

So, I received a bag on my 16th birthday from my very close friend and it was presented by my mamu who I really love and admire him as a person. When he gave me that gift, I was extremely overwhelmed, happy, on cloud nine. I don't know how to express it, I was shocked, surprised at the same time. I hugged him, told him, thank you for giving me this beautiful and lovely gift and he was actually not expecting me to give that reaction.

Band 7

This happened after my graduation. After completing my degree, I joined Medgar College for House Agency. I was posted in Surgery Department. It was a hectic period in my life. One day while I was at work, I was called to the reception area. When I reached there, I was really shocked to see my family there. Then I remembered it was my birthday. They have travelled all the way to see me and celebrate my birthday. Seeing them there was overwhelming. But then my father handed me a car key. For someone who loves to drive, owning a car of my own was a dream come true. I rushed to my department to ask permission from my seniors to spend some time with my family. They were kind enough to let me go. I drove the new car with my family inside it, around the hospital for a while, enjoying every single moment of the ride. That day I got something what I really wished for, even without asking for it. This memory will always be cherished in me for the rest of my life.

Band 7

The best gift that I ever got was from my uncle. It was a black color watch with gold engravings on the dial. The watch was a titan watch. It had a very peculiar movement. Usually all the movements in the watch are usually a full rotation or a full circular rotation. But that particular watch had a particular movement called a retro movement where you cover half of the circle or a part of a circle then the pointer goes back. It's like you cover half of the circle and then it goes back to the starting point. So it had retrograde day movement. So each and every day it moves about like 10 degrees and at the end of the seventh day it jumps back to zero degree. So that's a very peculiar movement and since this particular movement is not common the watch was also pretty expensive. My uncle got me because I won in the local science fair on that particular year. He loved me first and he also encouraged me whenever I come up with these science projects. So he was very excited when I entered the final. After I received the gift my happiness knew no bounds actually because I was literally

Band 7

So the gift I received from my friend for my birthday was a scrapbook. It was filled with so much of memories. She is my childhood friend. So there were all the photos which we took in childhood till now. It's been 16 years since we are friends. And we went to Amethyst Cafe. She surprised me with a chocolate truffle cake. And then in the scrapbook, there were a lot of childhood memories. It brought me back to the good old days where we used to enjoy as kids without any tension or stress. She also bought me a bouquet of flowers which I just loved and adored. The pictures were so nostalgic because it was all the core memories of my childhood. She always amazes me with every gift she gives me. The scrapbook included our memories, the things we collected in our childhood, our fingerprints. Then the things we used to enjoy as kids when we were in school. Since we studied in the same school, there were so many scribblings of the paper she attached to the scrapbook. And I just loved it so much. So this is the best gift I have ever received.

Band 7

Something which I received for free or rather a gift which I received recently was a dress which I had been eyeing for a very long time. It was given to me by my mother who had planned a surprise birthday dinner for me by inviting all of my close friends in addition to the gift. It made me really emotional I think on thinking about the effort and thought which she had put in for organizing the entire event as well as the gift. It was really thoughtful and considerate of her and I really appreciated her gesture. I was elated on receiving it. It was a black colored dress which was very expensive however my mother went behind my back and planned something which I was not expecting at all. It was really it was a really special moment and it added to the merriment and excitement of my birthday. Apart from this I had also received certain freebies from an online website on shopping something since it was my birthday month. Receiving this free gift made me even more excited

Band 7

A thing I received for free of cost is a painting gifted by my uncle on my 20th birthday in the year 2022, it's a beautiful painting of a girl standing in front of her home constructed in traditional Kerala architectural style with sloping roofs and clay tiles placed on wooden rafters with grand and splendid façade in the backdrop of picturesque hills, luscious valleys surrounded by verdant landscape and amidst idyllic countrysides. I felt an array of emotions after receiving this painting, first and foremost I can feel my uncle's abundant love and affection on me whenever I look at the painting and also it was quite propitious to me, a lot of good things happen in my life after receiving it as a gift. The painting was so colorful and resplendent and I felt that the rainbow itself has been grabbed from the sky and squeezed inside that painting. Thank you.

Band 7

It was on February 18th. I received a laptop as a surprise. You know that was my birthday and I never expected and my daughters wanted to celebrate my birthday in a very grand manner and we had cut a cake and at the same time I got a gift. I unwrapped it and to my surprise it was a laptop. Laptop is very very useful to me. Nowadays I am using that laptop and I never expected that my daughters would gift me such an expensive one. It had a very beautiful black cover with a golden lining and it had all the recent updated software. I think no one will get such a gift. It's very precious to me and I will keep it as long as I am alive. So that's a very very beautiful gift my daughters had given me which I never dreamt of. I also feel that I should give them back a beautiful gift. I should give it as a surprise. I am planning to give one. Probably I will give them a diamond necklace when I get a lot of money. So they will look stunning in the necklace. This is one of the best gift I ever got in my life.

Band 7

I was once in a bookshop as I was going through the shelves I came across one book that I have been wanting that I had been wanting to read for a very long time. It was called Anxious People by Frederick Beckman. I sat on one of the stools of the bookshop and I was reading through it to see whether or not I'm genuinely interested in the book and it so happened that I sat there for about an hour and I read through a couple chapters of the book. During this time the librarian was around me and she had observed me reading the book a few times. When I went to the counter to purchase the book she said that she was very fond of this book and she was very happy that somebody had taken a genuine interest in it as a result of which she offered to buy the book for me. That was a very kind gesture and it was something that I really valued. I have that book still on my bookshelf and I loved reading it.

Band 7

One of the best things I have ever received for free was a beautiful handcrafted leather journal from a street artisan during a college trip to Rajasthan. We were wandering through a local market when I stopped to watch an old craftman embossing intricate floral patterns on leather covers. I was just admiring his work and asked a few questions about the tools he used, nothing much. After chatting for maybe 10 minutes he suddenly picked up one of the finest journals he finished recently and handed it to me saying this one chose you, take it, no money. I was completely stunned and tried to pay but he just smiled and refused telling who truly appreciates them. That small gesture touched me deeply. I still use that journal every single day for my thoughts, be it travel sketches or photography notes or anything. Whenever I open it and smell that rich leather scent, I am reminded of his kindness and the idea that the most precious gifts often come when you least expect them and cost nothing at all.

Band 7

One of the things that I received for free or as a gift was a DIY crochet kit. I had actually mentioned it in passing to my friend about wanting to learn to crochet and she remembered it and gifted it to me for my birthday this year. I was honestly genuinely very shocked because I did not expect her to remember it and give it to me as a gift. I had just mentioned that in passing and didn't really think about it or mean much and of course didn't expect her to give it to me. I was very glad when I got it as a gift and genuinely very happy that I have a friend who listens to me and who actually remembers things that I mention even in passing. I appreciate her very much and I thanked her for it and I have actually started learning crochet through that kit. The kit was from a company called DIY Crochet and the animal she gave me was a beautiful whale which I finished it in about a week. Learning crochet had actually become easy for me because along with the kit, they also provided me with video lectures on how to start and the kit also had starters to start the crochet. The friend who gave it to me has been my best friend since 4 years. We live here together in hostel, we are roommates and are almost always together. So I couldn't convey to her in words of how overwhelmed I was with the gift but genuinely I was very happy.
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